Local celeb's foreign ordeal ends intensely

Sunday

Oct 14, 2012 at 6:00 AMOct 14, 2012 at 12:31 PM

Dianne Williamson

You have to hand it to Christina Andrianopoulos, who finally landed on American soil Saturday after a bizarre international odyssey that involved her alleged kidnapping, torture and forced detention in Liberia.

Not only was the media alerted to the crime by a press release written by the victim herself, but the release directed reporters seeking interviews to the “U.S.A. News Department,” which consists in its entirety of her boyfriend in Worcester.

“American Woman on Business Trip to Liberia Kidnapped by Vicious Criminals,” reads the breathless, two-page release. “TV Talk Show Host, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist Escaped from Captives and Shares her Story.”

I suppose the public relations maven is staying true to her calling, but news of international kidnappings is generally dispersed through official channels such as the State Department or the FBI, which has been oddly silent about Andrianopoulos' account.

Something happened to Andrianopoulos, and I don't mean to imply otherwise. The FBI has been involved, and newspapers in Liberia have reported the arrest of a Nigerian national in connection with the kidnapping and ransom demands made to George Cancelmo, her boyfriend.

But the details are sketchy, especially in terms of why a 58-year-old woman would set out alone for Liberia on a purported financial deal involving her boyfriend and a “business associate” she had never met. And her history of ceaseless self-promotion isn't helping her credibility back home, where the sensational tale has attracted widespread skepticism, perhaps unfairly.

Andrianopoulos was kidnapped Sept. 23 after she stepped off a plane in Monrovia by a man who drove her to a dark house, where she was viciously beaten and tortured “for three horrifying days,” she claimed.

“Due to the fast thinking of the LNP (Liberian National Police) and the FBI from the highest directives of the State Department, an all points alert was issued shortly after the first ransom call and the information that reached the criminals was that an American Celebrity was kidnapped,” according to the release. “Though it earned her several beatings … it ultimately scared away the coward leader, The Boss, who scurried away and left instructions to his soldiers to have her murdered …”

As fate would have it, Andrianopoulos was able to gain the confidence of a sympathetic young soldier who helped her escape, she wrote. And if you think the story has all the makings of a book, she's already announced her intention to write one.

The petite and colorful fashionista has also provided interviews to the highly entertaining Liberian press, which consistently misspells her name, once referred to her as 88 years old, and recently wrote the following: “The Greek-American woman who was reportedly kidnapped by some unknown persons upon her arrival in Margibi County recently has described her ordeal as a face to face situation with the devil. Speaking for the first time after her rescue by security forces, she referred to her kidnappers as devils that she came face to face with.”

I spoke to Christina by telephone before she left Liberia, where she was detained for days while officials tried to sort out her story.

“I can't wait to get out of here,” she said. “It's been the most horrible, horrible, horrible experience. No movie would do it justice … I faced the devil. Through the grace of God, a miracle occurred and I was able to escape.”

She said the beatings resulted in a black eye and impaired hearing in one ear. As for the torture, she said she was “thrown in a small dark room” and tied to a chair. She said her kidnappers used “brutal tools” to cut her fingers, but she was able to thwart the attempts by clenching her fists into a tight ball, which perhaps makes her torturers among the most inept in all of Africa. After her escape, she was examined by a doctor at the U.S. Embassy, who gave her pain medication, she said.

Asked why she'd fly to Liberia for what she called a “financial investment project,” she said, “I've been all over the world. I had no qualms about flying by myself.”

The self-described celebrity hosts a local talk show on Charter TV 3 called “City Vibes Metro” and is a familiar fixture at whatever passes for a social scene in Worcester. She managed to remain active from Liberia on Facebook, where she posted Oct. 2 that she's excited to co-host another show this fall with a “renowned psychic.” She does public relations work from her home.

I wrote about Andrianopoulos in 2009 and had to write a subsequent clarifying column after she shaved more than six years from her age and lied about her background. Those fibs may be haunting her now, in the city and the harsh blogosphere, as many local folks are doubting her kidnap story.

“I think this whole THING is a hoax,” reads one comment, typical of the rest. “She's a celebrity in her own mind. Looking for attention perhaps?”

Cancelmo, for his part, claims the kidnapping is “a very sensitive political matter involving the highest levels in Washington,” and will attract widespread “international media attention” once his girlfriend is home.

“The Worcester people have no idea,” he said.

Maybe not. So far, though, it sounds like Andrianopoulos was taken in by a scam, and she was indeed victimized by criminals who boxed her ears while trying to make a quick buck. Now, she and Cancelmo may be embellishing the incident for publicity and perhaps a quick buck of their own.

Well, this is America, after all. And whether Christina attracts the international media attention she expects, here's one local journalist who's glad she's home safe, because the city wouldn't be the same without her.

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